Ultan raised a hand to cease any conversation in the room. “I have gathered you here today because we have been given a special assignment.” The captains stood at attention except for Donovan, who leaned against the wall much to the chagrin of two men near. “As you well know, Thalassa’s efforts seem to have been a pain in Tartarus’ side for a few months now. We have no idea where Edeus is, nor do I suspect we will ever find out.”
“Probably at the bottom of the sea or in Triton’s hands,” Donovan offered. Edeus had always been one of the more foolish of the captains, setting out to make a name for himself when he only controlled two ships in his patrols. Normally that would be enough for a Gaian to subdue even three Thalassan vessels but a fool is a fool, and he must have failed in any attempt at such.
“Likely that is so,” Ultan admitted. “With the loss of him and his men we sent a query to Tellus for more from their reserve forces. In exchange for a hundred more men we have been given a task.” The silence in the room grew to an eerie state and Donovan rolled his eyes. “We are to send a force of twenty vessels to attack an isle of Thalassa.”
“We should hit Phorcys,” one of the captains proclaimed. “They have the bastards’ money. If we hit them they have no revenue.”
“I choose the island,” Ultan replied curtly. “This is something that should be thought through, not some haphazard adventure. The Thalassans know that Phorcys is where their coin begins.”
“What do you propose, then?” Donovan asked.
“I’m not quite certain, as of yet,” Ultan answered honestly. “We have within a month’s time to decide, but I want you captains to delegate amongst yourselves who shall stay and who shall go. I’ll not have it said that Ultan picks favorites. Ten of you will go, while nine of you shall stay here to protect Tartarus.”
There was a grumble at that. Everyone would want to go, not for a lust of blood but for the pickings of loot from whatever isle they plan to attack. Donovan itched at the opportunity to leave but said nothing as the men around him squabbled over the options. Ultan raised his hand for silence again and bade them all to leave and figure it out. When Donovan was about to turn away Ultan called him over.
The short admiral waited until everyone had left the room before seating himself in a chair with green cushions. He motioned for Donovan to sit opposite and the captain inhaled deeply and took a seat. “Donovan, what level of captain are you?”
“I am Seventh Captain of Tartarus, Admiral,” Donovan answered respectfully. Hopefully if he played his cards right then he would secure a spot in the assignment.
“You should be First,” Ultan replied with calm in his high voice.
“Mark has that honor,” Donovan answered with a shrug as if to say he did not resent the brown nosing bastard.
“Your thoughts betray you,” Ultan said. He smiled as though he had uncovered a mystery.
“That doesn’t happen often,” Donovan replied with a smile of his own.
“You should know that I kept you back because I would like for you to lead this task yourself,” Ultan said. “I want you to be my First Captain, but you have the ability to become my right hand in more than just name. You have already proven your willingness to perform tasks others would find… distasteful.”
“I don’t follow,” Donovan stated.
Ultan chortled. “I like that about you, Donovan. You’re never willing to speak on matters that should be kept locked away.” Donovan played with the gold ring on his right hand. “As I was saying, I want you to be my First Captain.”
“There are ways to make such things possible,” Donovan said. He could hardly hide his smile.
“No,” Ultan said. “I don’t want you to do anything drastic. Merely proving your valor on the battlefield will be enough for me to bump you up and pull Mark into a position as Second Captain.”
“As you wish,” Donovan said. “If I am to lead this assault then I want you to know that I am going to go about it my own way.”
“That’s what I’m hoping for,” Ultan replied. “If we can slap the Thalassans hard enough we may be able to get them to bow out of this war completely, or at least that’s what the High Council is hoping for. Personally I would not care if it went on for another ten years. They may be missing those precious taxes but I have made more than a fair share in the past months.”
Donovan chuckled. “I suppose that I should help you decide on which island we’re going to attack.”
“Oh, don’t you worry about that,” Ultan said wolfishly. “I know an apple ripe for the picking.”
Ana
Breezy air surrounded the isle as dusk began to fall. Ana reveled in it with hardly a care in the world as she made her way down to the docks to greet Xander upon his return. It had been a few weeks since their trip to Pontos. Xander’s change in position meant changes of his schedule as well. Ana was grateful for the change because it brought a little bit of freshness to their old routine. When Xander was still Aldous’ second-in-command he would work long days, drink and eat supper, then study with Sophia. Now, he would go out on rounds once every few days. Ana was noticing that she was enjoying sacrificing a day apart from him because it made their reunions so much sweeter. He also had a lot more free time when he was there and was never stuck on a tower for hours on end to turn his good nature foul.
Spring was nearing, and the winds reflected it. Ana could almost taste the willingness for blossoms in the trees, the aching for sprouts in the soil. Spring was her favorite time of the year and she was in a wonderful mood. Xander may be arriving now, but it would be a brief greeting until he was free to visit with her at The Saving Grace around dusk. Her plan was to welcome him home and then push him out of her mind so that she may spend a moment with her father. If he saw her on the docks and she did not stop by to see him it would be very suspicious behavior.
“Hello, fair one,” Xander greeted her as he stepped off the gangplank. She had just reached his vessel as he was disembarking. “Perfect timing for a quick kiss, but then I must finish my day before we meet again.”
Ana took her kiss gratefully. “How was your trip? Did anything exciting happen?”
“Not particularly,” Xander admitted, putting an arm around her as they walked towards the main boardwalk. “It was business as usual. I still have a hard time believing all of this is mine…”
They stood together and gazed up towards the ship and all of its crew. It was a sloop just barely larger than Brennus’ own. Ana knew from the sheer design of the thing that it would be a fast vessel. It had a massive mast and was rigged fore and aft. Rowing would probably never be an issue. And of late it seemed to her like more and more ships were steering away from being rowed, so to speak. At eighty feet long and twenty-four feet wide Xander’s sloop housed six guns on each side with ease. He was entranced by the sight of it when quite suddenly Ana realized that they had gotten carried away in their public display. She ducked out from underneath his arm. “I’m sorry, it’s just that we’re in plain sight of all those who work on the docks.”
“You’re right, forgive me. The sea takes my mind away sometimes and I forgot where we were.” Xander smiled down at her. He folded his arms before his chest.
“I am very glad for you and all that you have accomplished lately,” Ana said, remembering the statement he made before she interrupted regarding their public display. “It’s quite funny how I met you at the turning point in your career. It seems that I have only ever seen you move up in the world.”
Xander considered this for a long while, staring up at his crew scattered busily around the dock. “Aye, you met me at one of the worst times in my life. When Daemyn died I felt very alone and looking back I can’t imagine what it would have been like without you there as my friend. As far as my career, I suppose our teamwork that night by your house set my aspirations in motion. Since then, I’ve just been making good impressions over and over, making all of the right moves, and being completely remarkable in all aspects.”
Xander’s feigned arrogance made Ana chuckle and roll her eyes. “Aye, you’re quite remarkable.”
“Perhaps you’re my good luck charm.” Xander winked.
Ana was grateful that she did not have a chance to reply for she may have just kissed him in response to his smooth words. Her savior was a man calling for guidance on some matter, and being that Xander was the commanding officer he needed to go tend to his duties. They nodded at one another in the most informal way they could muster and turned to go on their separate missions.
Thomas was nowhere to be seen when Ana reached the ship he was said to be repairing that evening. She approached another worker and asked for him. The man was dirty and slightly older than her father by Ana’s speculation and he was put off by her as soon as he realized she was seeking out the Gaian man on the crew. Ana did not wait for the man to respond, but searched his mind for the whereabouts of her father. She was in no mood to deal with the Thalassan prejudices today.
The men on the ship regarded her as a lady as she stepped aboard to speak with her father. She could read the distaste as a general lull in their minds as she passed, and felt a pang of sadness that Thomas had to listen to it in his mind every day that he worked with them. She finally found him kneeling over an oarsman’s bench, repairing a broken leg.
“Hello, father,” Ana greeted him, stepping into his view.
“Ana,” Thomas said, not raising his head from his work.
The Gaian woman was confused. “Have I done something?”
“I would rather not get into that discussion while I’m working,” Thomas replied silently.
His answer stung and she let herself think it blatantly so he would know that she was wounded by his callousness. She perched herself on one of the benches that was not broken in front of him and crossed her arms over her chest defiantly. “I will sit here and wait until you wish to speak about it.”
Thomas threw down his hammer and rose swiftly to his feet. Ana stood just as quickly and followed him wordlessly as he made his way back down the gangplank that she had previously come up. He stomped his way past workers and crewmen of the ships to their right and left, Ana keeping pace rather well for such a difference in stride length between her and Thomas. Suddenly, just as they were out of earshot of any eavesdropper, Thomas came to a halt and spun around.
“Are the rumors about you and Xander true?” Thomas spat out the question, a finger raised in his daughter’s face. Temper flared in his eyes.
Ana lifted her chin. “If I am unaware of the rumors I cannot confirm or deny them.”
“The men on the ship have been thinking about the new commanding officer under Brennus, a former orphan I might add, and his beautiful Gaian woman. You are the only Gaian woman on this island,” he said, his mind indicative that he was leaving out some crude and very untrue details.
She nodded. “I do not know what ugliness you may have heard but it makes little difference. What matters is that he loves me, and I him.”
Thomas faltered, obviously expecting that his daughter would at least try to deny it once. He shuddered with anger, so much that he did not have enough control over himself to speak aloud. “How long has this been going on?”
Ana was stubborn enough use her voice. “A couple months, but we have been close friends from the day we met. I trust him completely.”
“A couple months?” he quoted in disbelief. “You hid this from me for a couple months?”
“Aye, sir, I have, for the fear that you would react in such a way that I would have to defend myself, and I didn’t want to defend something that I didn’t feel positive about. I had to be sure of my feelings for him, and his for me.”
The aging man was briefly satisfied with this, but then his anger returned. “Did your mother know before me?”
“She spends much time with us both.” Ana said, as if this were the only explanation that he needed. It was true that her mother knew her inside and out, and she had begun to know Xander quite well through her lessons with him. It was only natural that a mother would find out about such a thing as this before a father.
Thomas looked around for some steady place to sit down and settled upon an old wooden barrel to lean on. He was rubbing his chin, keeping a swarm of numbers and sailor songs circling his mind to keep Ana out while he considered the situation. Finally, he looked deep into her eyes. “Ana, you know how I feel about a Thalassan and Gaian relationship. It only brings heartache. Your mother and I had our fair share, and we weren’t in a time of war when we began seeing one another. This is not something that you can publicly flaunt. There will be many and more that criticize you. His crew may begin to undermine his commands because the race they are sworn to combat is in his bed every night.”
He brought up a point that Ana had never considered. When the king appointed Xander his new position he had not been aware of Xander’s relationship with a Gaian. What would become of them if his crew were to disband under him? What would the king think about their coupling? She suddenly felt her father’s presence in her mind and envisioned a door slamming in his face. He jumped at the imagery in her mind and backed out slowly. The damage was done for their argument’s sake. Thomas already knew that her decision was faltering based on his insights.
Even though he knew he had planted the seed of doubt in her mind, Thomas continued as if he were twisting the hand on a blade in his enemy’s back. “What does your future bring with this officer, a son of Nemo? Will you reside forever in Triton? What will the effects of this war be on your love for him? Are you planning on raising a family with a man whose loyalties first lie to a king that’s hell-bent on destroying your home?”
Thomas’ questions were swirling around Ana’s mind at such a pace that she was short of breath. She had never considered any of this and she was frightened at the poignancy of his words. She ran from him without looking back, and headed away from the docks and towards the part of town where The Saving Grace stood. She hoped to find Saija there, though she could not remember what Brennus’ schedule looked like for the day and did not know if she and Caedmon were even on the island tonight.
She rounded a corner and sprinted down an alley that opened up directly in front of the well-loved tavern. Just as she launched herself out of the mouth of the black alley she slammed directly into a dark figure. Together they crashed to the ground with a thud, the sheer force of the impact and then the resulting fall to the hard ground knocked the wind out of Ana. She lay sprawled out across her victim’s chest, both trying to catch their breaths. Ana lifted her head wearily to see who she had collided with and breathed out a sigh of relief as she realized it was Stefan lying beneath her.
“Forgive me,” she panted, laying her head back down on his chest. She must have hit her head on something for she felt dizzy and too weak to right herself. “I’m terribly glad you’re not some strange man.”
Stefan chuckled and touched a hand to the back of his head. “I wish you had attacked some strange man, that way I wouldn’t be bleeding out of my skull.”
His words gave Ana the burst of energy that she had not had seconds ago and she hopped up to her knees to examine his wounds. “Oh, Stefan, you really are bleeding! Come, let’s go to the tavern to get you cleaned up.”
Stefan allowed her to tug him into a seated position but resisted any further movement. “Give me a second, will you? I can hardly breathe.”
“I apologize,” Ana said, moving from her knees to a more comfortable seated position in the dirt. “I had something on my mind and I was running to… escape it.”
“You cannot escape your mind by running, Ana,” Stefan thought with an amused edge to his mind’s voice.
“You can if you’re running into a tavern,” she replied dryly.
Stefan pulled a strip of cloth from the bottom of his tunic and pressed it to the wound on his head. It quickly soaked with blood. Ana gasped and covered her mouth with her dirty hands in astonishment. He forced a smile at her concern. “I wi
ll be fine, don’t fret.”
She was not convinced. “Why can’t we just go into the tavern and get you cleaned up?”
“If we go to the tavern now, you will surely give me only but a moment of your attention before turning your sorrows into swallows. I want to give you time to talk if you need to while you’re still in a logical state.”
Ana was appreciative of the intervention. That was precisely what she would have done had she discovered Saija was nowhere to be found. “In the most simple terms, my father was unaware of my relationship with Xander until he heard mention of it in the minds of the other dockworkers. He confronted me, and at first I held my ground but then he started making points that I had never once considered. I feel horrible.”
Stefan sensed that Ana was too fragile to continue speaking aloud of the details, so he gently probed her mind. He was waiting at the edges of her thoughts almost as if he were only going to proceed with her permission. She nodded, and he dove in, witnessing the conversation through the playback in Ana’s mind. When he finished, he opened his free hand to her and she moved to sit closer beside him.
“My only advice is that you speak with Xander. If you hadn’t thought of these things before proceeding with him, maybe he hadn’t either. In the off chance that these things were considered then he will be able to put your mind at ease with solutions. You won’t know unless you ask…”
Ana put her head on Stefan’s shoulder and realized how nice it was to be comforted by him. He was the only other Gaian man that she knew on the island other than her father, and he understood her in so many ways that her other friends never could. It reminded her of her friendship with Katherine on a very small scale. Maybe someday she could be that close with Stefan. He was surely acting like the perfect friend and brother.
Severance (The Sovereign Book 1) Page 32
